The New Pretender
by Driftwood Dragon
Summary: The Centre decided to train a new Pretender, but will this new Pretender become an asset or a problem?
1. Chapter 1

THE NEW PRETENDER

Chapter One:

It was in the middle of June when all the flowers are still in bloom and the trees are changing for the fall. It is a nice warm sunny day and you see people walking their dogs, bike riding, roller skating or just walking. It was a fine day in Shadow Hills, Delaware. It was very quiet and peaceful in this town until it was broken by a scream from one of the houses down the road.

The house was in nice shape even though it is 30 yrs old. It had yellow aluminum siding and a brick fireplace. It had 4 steps leading up from the driveway to the front door. There were 2 small trees planted in the front yard overlooking the street and they were just beginning to grow. A nice blue cadillac was parked in the driveway and everything looked fine. But, inside the house is another matter.

"What is all the screaming going on?" asked an old lady as she walked into her living room. It was lite up with very pretty standing lamps. The room looked very peaceful with paintings of her husband who has long passed and her children and grandchildren. There was a plant underneath the window overlooking the backyard. And another one overlooking the street hanging. The carpet was made to look like a tapestry. And the couches were the color of deep dark blue. The future were a nice dark finish wood. And there on the floor sat a young 7 yr old girl with pigtails watching the tv when the old lady came walking in. "What is it?" "Grandma, my mommy and daddy are gone!" "What are you talking about?" "Mommy and daddy went on to airplane and now the plane is broken!" The grandma started walking to the tv when she saw the most dreadful site. A plane was broken into 2 pieces on the ground in Kansas. There were no survivors. "Are you sure you're mommy and daddy were on the plane?" "Yes, grandma. Don't you remember seeing them off with me at the airport?" the young girl asked as she looked up at her grandma. "Oh, dear." the grandma said as she looked down at the girl who had tears in her eyes. "Now, I remember. I believe your parents were on that plane. I'm so sorry, Catherine." she said as she knelt down on the floor holding the young girl.

Just as the two started to get calmed down someone busted through the front door and as they looked behind them one of the intruders shot the grandma and the girl was too frightened to run so she just sat there. Then another intruder came in and stood above the girl and looked down. The girl saw terror and hatred in the intruders eyes. Then she was lifted up and was taken out into a black unmarked limo. She looked around and noticed that 2 of the intruders got into the car next to her. As she was sitting in the limo she tried to keep from showing any emotion so that the intruders won't try to kill her. Just as she lifted her head she saw both intruders take their face masks off. One was a young man probably in his early 30s with short brown hair and deep brown eyes that were cold. She looked on the other side of her and saw another man but a slight older with grey hair and a jaw that could kill someone. They both looked at her and then looked out the windows. It was a silent ride to wherever they were taking her. She heard the young man address the driver: "Take us to Blue Cove." "Yes sir, Mr. Lyle." said the driver who was a man. So, the rest of the car trip was made in silence.

The silence was beginning to get to her and she started to fall asleep but kept making herself wake up. She was tired from all of the playing she did when she went to school and came back to her grandmas. And how she missed her grandma. She kept trying to figure out why they came for her and why they killed her grandma. As she pondered she noticed a great big tan building that stretched for miles. It looked creepy and none inviting but there was nothing that she could say about it. So, they drove in and stopped at the front door. The older man got out and tugged the girl out of the car and brought her up the stairs to the front door. As he opened it, Catherine too one more look behind her to see the sky and everything else and Mr. Lyle as he got out of the car as the older man took her inside the building.

Then Catherine and the older man got into an elevator and he pressed #7 and the doors were just about to close when Mr. Lyle made it into the elevator with them. He stood there and just waited til the doors opened. Catherine looked around and noticed also there was no music so this must be a very secretive building for no music. She heard the ding sounding the seventh floor and the doors opened. She looked out and saw so many people walking around and talking. She saw young kids with no expression on their faces. They didn't even acknowledge her presence. The 2 men brought her in front of a double door that had windows in it but you couldn't look in or out of them. The older man opened the door and they brought Catherine into the room. It was lit up and she noticed a wooden desk in the front behind some windows. She also noticed a roomful of people just talking and then stopped when they walked into the room. There was a young woman sitting behind the desk and she looked up when Catherine came in being escorted by the older man and Mr. Lyle. She got up and walked in front of the desk. She was very beautiful...she had dark brown hair up to her shoulders and dark blue eyes. Her lips were blood red and her suit was the same color as her lips. The skirt she wore was worn halfway up her thighs showing a lot of legs which were held up by six inch black heeled shoes.

She had her arms crossed and smiled. As they neared the young woman she told the older man who she called "Sam" to let go of her and step away. She looked over at Mr. Lyle and for a minute they just looked at each other. Then Mr. Lyle went and sat down on one of the leather couchs in the room. And "Sam" walked out of the room instructed by the young lady. The brunette lady spoke and her voice was low. "Hi. You must be Catherine. My name is Miss Parker. I hope your ride was very nice." she said as she looked at Catherine then at Mr. Lyle. Mr. Lyle spoke, "well, we did the job. We found the girl and took care of the people she had around her." he said as he smiled. Miss Parker looked down at Catherine and said, "you look exhausted. Why don't you go and sit down here and rest. Here is some water for you." she said as she handed Catherine some very cool water in a plastic cup. As she walked back to her desk she called for an older man over to her. Catherine heard Miss Parker address him as Sydney. She said, "Sydney, I want you to take her under your wing and make her a Pretender. I'm still looking for Jarod but Mr. Raines wants another one. So, I want to leave her in your care." Miss Parker said as she looked at Sydney. Sydney was just about to say something when a bald headed man with an oxygen tank he was wheeling came into the room. Everyone looked and there was shock and horror in their eyes. She heard Miss Parker address him as "Mr. Raines."

The bald man spoke in a scratchy voice, "She is NOT going with Sydney. There is too much at stake to have him take her. I have someone else in mind that will do better." Miss Parker spoke next, "really, and who would be the BEST person to take the job?" she said as she walked up to him. "Me. I will take her and make her a Pretender that should have been done with Jarod." "You? You can't be the person to train her. You can hardly think let alone act like a man." "Remember, Miss Parker, I did train the young Jarod..." "Yea, that's right. You did...you also drilled lies into his head about Jarod killing the younger Jarod's parents. You, should not even be allowed to train her...you son of a b..." she almost finished when she saw an older man walk through the double doors behind Mr. Raines. "Angel, Mr. Raines is the person that will train the girl. He is the best person and I know how much you want to object but this is how it's going to be." he said firm and looking at Miss Parker. She then looked at Sydney, then the girl and proceeded to walk out when she stopped right next to Mr. Raines. In his right ear she spoke very low so no one could hear, "go ahead and train her. But if you make one wrong move with her, I will be next to you with a gun drawn at your life force." she said as she tapped the oxygen tank. As she said that Mr. Raines skipped breathes from the threat. She then opened the double doors and walked out leaving the older man, Mr. Lyle, Mr. Raines, Sydney and Catherine in the room.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Pretender characters. They belong to MTM, NBC and TNT. No money was involved and no infringements intended. The only characters that I have soul rights to are: Catherine (which has nothing to do with Parker's mother) and Dr. Ryan Stevens.

THE NEW PRETENDER

Chapter Two:

Inside The Centre...

The next day, started the training with Catherine. Mr. Raines took her down to one of the sublevels to do the training and made sure no one bothered them. For the next 6 months Mr. Raines fed Catherine sim after sim after sim and made her become one of the most dangerous Pretenders that will walk the face of the planet. And he had even gone as far as disiplining her with no food if she didn't do something right. He would also have her beaten by one of his sweepers if she showed any emotion and if she didn't want to do something he would threaten to kill her. But he never did. Catherine learned many different things and many different identities. She found out who is bad and who is good. She was even taught that Jarod is an evil man and that he has taken Mr. Raines' 11yr old son Jarod from him. He wants his son back and the evil man, Jarod. After 6 months of this training, Mr. Raines tested Catherine on it to see what she learned and being a Pretender she learned very quickly. He also trained her on using weapons, which Sydney would never have trained Jarod to use. And with all the training, Mr. Raines never once noticed a tiny camera hidden in the room watching every little thing that happens. And the same thing is being played on a computer in a dark room with none other than Miss Parker, Sydney and the computer geek Broots. They could not believe their eyes at what they were seeing. It crushed Miss Parker's heart when she saw what Mr. Raines did to the little girl. She felt sorry for that little girl and wanted to do something but her father would not let anyone get near to Mr. Raines and Catherine.

Miss Parker spoke,"I can't believe that he could be so heartless." she said as she got up from the chair and walked away.

She turned around when Sydney spoke to her, "Parker, where are you going?" he said in his Belgium accent.

"I'm going to get a drink. I can't watch any more of this cruelty to children." she said as she looked at Sydney. Sydney could tell that this upset her very much but he didn't do anything to comfort her. So, she left the room and closed the door.

In the Centre hallway...

As she got into the hallway she leaned against the wall and put her face in her hands. Then, she walked to her own room and sat down on the bed. She then laid down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. When she got up a few minutes later, a picture caught her eye. It was a picture of her when she was a little baby and her mother, and everyone tells her she looks just like her mother. She was holding baby Miss Parker and she just stood there with tears in her eyes trying to think about what her mother would do in this situation. And she knew the answer to it cause it killed her mother many years ago.

In Broots office...

Down in Broots' office, Sydney and Broots were busy looking through files after files on Catherine but came up with nothing. Broots was busy looking on the computer when the phone rang. They both looked at each other and then Sydney walked over to the phone laying on the desk. He took a deep breath and sighed before he answered it.

After 4 rings he pressed answer and a man with a low voice spoke, "Hello, Sydney."

"Hello, Jarod. How are you?" asked Sydney happily.

"Doing great here. I'm having a great time with the clone. It didn't even take long for my mom and my sister to get used to him." he said, as he looked at his younger self playing with a pet Doberman dog.

"That is great to here. How is your family?" asked Sydney.

"They are doing fine. My mom and sister are happy to finally have the family back together except of course, Kyle. Everyone misses him very much and I had to explain to my clone about Kyle." Jarod said as he walked away from his younger self. He walked over to a window and looked out and noticed his mom and dad and Emily were outside sitting in the sunlight. He walked outside to where his family was sitting. "It's great to not have to worry about the Centre...though I am surprised that no one has come after me. What's the deal?" he asked as he walked outside to be with the other family members.

"Well, we have a new project at the Centre." said Sydney.

"What new project?" asked Jarod. There was silence on the other end, and Jarod looked over at his dad who had a worried look on his face. "Sydney, what new project?" Jarod was getting a little testy.

"Mr. Raines...has made a new Pretender. But this one is NOT like the others. She is more dangerous than any of the Pretenders we have had." Sydney said slowly.

"You've GOT to be kidding. Does Miss Parker know about this?" Jarod asked.

"Yes, she does and she wants to rescue her but she can't." said Sydney.

"Why not?" asked Jarod.

"Mr. Parker won't let anyone near Mr. Raines and the girl." said Sydney sadly.

"So, he has finally managed to make another one. What is her name?" Jarod asked.

"Her name is Catherine. She is very gifted and she could do a lot of good but because of Raines...she has been trained to hunt, kill and destroy everyone and everything in her path. If he lets her loose you MUST be very careful 'cause he is telling her about you and your clone." said Sydney.

Then Jarod asked, "How old is she?"

"Well, she just turned 13. Her mind is more adult like and easier to control. She'll do whatever Mr Raines or anyone here in the Centre tells her to do." said Sydney.

"So what should I do? I don't know if I want to go back to the Centre." Jarod said, as he saw the look on his dad's face.

"Well, I'm still here if you decide to help out." Sydney said.

"Alright, Sydney...I'll let you know." and they both hung up.

In the backyard at the Russell home...

After he got off the phone, Major Charles looked at Jarod, "What's wrong, son?"

Jarod looks down and then looks at his dad, "Raines, has made another project."

"Another project? You mean another Pretender."asked his father who was a little shocked.

"Yea, that is what I mean. That was Sydney I was just talking to and he is telling me that Raines has been training this young Pretender. He trained her so well, she hunts, kills and destroys everyone and everything. She will be after me and my clone." as he said that he saw the look on his mom and Emily's faces.

His mom got up and walked over to Jarod, "Please Jarod...don't go back there. We just got you back, I can't bear not having you around anymore even though we have your clone."

"I know mom." he said as he hugged her. "But I have to help her. She is being subjected to the same thing that I have been subject to. And besides, Catherine Parker would do the same thing." as he said that he saw a tear running down his mother's face. She held a tight grip on his arm and wouldn't let him go.

"Please, Jarod. Don't go. I know you want to help her but maybe this is just the way it should be. Please, I'm afraid we won't ever see you again." said a scared Margaret.

As Jarod pulled his mom's grip from his arms he said, "Mom, don't worry. I will be coming back along with Catherine. I won't let them subject her mind to hateful things." he said as he walked over to his sister.

"Jarod, do you have to go? I don't want you to go. I just got used to having you around." says Emily sadly.

"I know, Emily...but there is nothing I can do. Eventually, all of this will be over with for good. But for now, I have to help save any and all the Pretenders that are made from the Centre." he gave Emily a kiss on her cheek and they both hugged.

As he was about to walk away, Major Charles spoke to him, "Well, I know nothing that I can say will make you stay. So, all I will say is that I admire your courage to help another person out. And if you need any help you know where you can find me. I'll be here with your mom and Emily and the clone when you come back." as he said this both Jarod and Major Charles had tears coming down their cheeks. They both hugged and watched as Jarod walked to the back door and he walked past his clone. And out the front door to his car.

As he was just about to get in his clone came out saying, "Jarod, where are you going? Can I come with?"

Jarod looked at him and smiled then said, "Go back inside and stay with our family. I will be back. I have some matters to take care of." he said.

But the clone didn't move and said, "But, why can't I come with you? I can help you. I won't be in the way."

Jarod walked over to him and kneeled down looking into the clone's eyes and said, "I know that...but you are TOO precious to this family. You are to stay here and help with the family. Understand?" The clone sighed and nodded.

Jarod smiled and gave him a hug saying, "Now go inside and stay there." He walked over to his car and saw his clone rush inside and stand by the window. Jarod got into his car and drove away...not looking back.

In Broots office...

Back in Broots' office, Broots and Sydney are still watching the computer and seeing more things that Raines is doing to Catherine. As they were watching, Miss Parker walked into the room. "Watching porno again?" she said as she looked at Broots and then at Sydney.

"No, just updates on the Raines project." said Sydney.

"What has happened? Anything new?" Miss Parker asked.

"Well, it appears that Catherine is finished with her training and Raines is preparing to let her go out into the world."said Broots.

"You're kidding...Is he serious Sydney?" asked a shocked Miss Parker.

"I'm...afraid...it is serious."said an unhappy Sydney.

"I can't believe this...my job is getting jepordized by a younger Raines."she said as she pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it.

"What are you talking about?" Broots asked as he looked up from the computer screen.

"What I'm talking about, twit, is that Catherine is taking over my job of finding Jarod. My father has ordered me away from Jarod and the clone." she said as she took another puff from her cigarette. She turned around to face Sydney, "well, I wonder what your lab rat will think when he finds out about Catherine." she said as she turned away and started walking away slowly.

"Well, Jarod already knows." as Sydney said that he saw her turn around and looked at him.

"He knows?" Sydney nodded his head. She then smiled, "well, maybe my job is not over after all." she said as she turned and started walking towards the door.

As she left, Broots looked up from his screen again and looked at Sydney, "what did she mean by that?"

"What she means is trouble." says Sydney.

"Well, why don't you call him and tell him?"Broots asked.

"Cause I already told him to call me and say if he will do it or not." Sydney said as he walked out of the room leaving Broots alone with his computer.

Miss Parker's room...

As Sydney was walking the hallways he happened to pass by Miss Parker's room. He opened it to find Miss Parker pacing the floor. She was talking to herself and taking puff after puff of her cigarette. She never even noticed Sydney was watching her. His voice startled her, "Parker, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm thinking." she said as she crushed another cigarette next to 2 other butts. She then sat on the end of the bed and put her face in her hands. Sydney didn't wait for her to ask him to come in...he just walked in and closed the door. He sat next to her on the bed and noticed for the 1st time a beautiful diamond ring was on her left middle finger.

"I see you have your mother's ring on." she looked up at him and then at the ring,

"yea. It helps me think. It's almost like I have her here and she is trying to tell me what I should do. What do you think I should do?"asked Miss Parker.

"Well, I would go with your gut instinct." Sydney said.

"Well, my gut instinct wants me to kill Raines. But, if I stop this what will I have to loose? They can't kill me cause I already died once."said Miss Parker.

"Please don't remind me. I can't think of ever loosing you again." he said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"You know, when I went to Catherine's room and talked to her I couldn't believe how innocent and peaceful she was. Her parents brought her up very well. It was a shame with what happened to her."said Miss Parker.

"Yes Parker it was. I bet it was hard to bring down their plane. Knowing that her parents were in there and she would be left an orphan."said Sydney.

"That was the whole point. But, now my conscience is telling me to help her out but I don't know if I have the strength to stand up against my father." as she said that she got some liquor and poured some into a glass halfway. She then proceeded to drink it and didn't get very far with it when all of a sudden she started feeling faint. Sydney noticed it but didn't get there in time as she fell to the floor unconscious.

Sydney put a pillow under her head and ran to get her phone which was on her dresser. He dialed a fellow doctor and told him that he will be bringing a patient in that was very important. After he hung up he went downstairs to Broots and told him what has happened and that he is taking Miss Parker to the hospital.

At the hospital...

When Sydney arrived at the hospital his doctor friend was waiting outside for him. He parked the car and jumped out . He went over to the passenger door, opened it and took Miss Parker out of the car. "Sydney, is this the patient?" he said as he looked from Miss Parker to Sydney.

"Yes." said Sydney as he held Miss Parker.

"Ok, Let's get her in a room." So, they both went inside the hospital and in one of the empty rooms on the bottom level and Sydney carried Miss Parker to the bed. He laid her down and stood back. The doctor took blood samples from her arm and then got her comfortable. He then left Miss Parker and Sydney alone. Sydney found a chair and sat next to Miss Parker's bed for 3 hours. The doctor came back a little after 3 hours. He had bad news from the way that the doctor looked.

"Well, I had a sinking feeling about this. But, Miss Parker was poisoned." the doctor said.

"Poisoned? What was she poisoned by?" Sydney asked stunned.

"Well, it looks like a poisonous plant ended up in her stomach. It is not deadly but she is weak and has some difficulty in breathing. You brought her here in time so that we can get rid of the poison and she will be able to leave in a few days." said the doctor.

"Thank you, doctor Stevens." says a relieved Sydney.

"Sydney, you know you can call me, Ryan. We have known each other for years." said Dr. Stevens.

"Well, thank you anyway, Ryan." he gave Ryan a hand shake and Ryan left the room. Sydney went and sat down in the chair and closed his eyes. After an hour he opened his eyes when he heard a voice. It was coming from Miss Parker.

"Sydney, what happened? Why am I in a hospital?" she said in a soft voice.

"You were poisoned. I got you here and my friend was able to get all of the poison washed out of your system." said Sydney softly.

"Thank you, Sydney" she said and then fell back asleep.

"Your welcome, Miss Parker" and then he too closed his eyes and slept.

To be continued...


End file.
